Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be

January 26, 2015
With great energy and enthusiasm, New York Times columnist Bruni takes a pin to âour society's warped obsession with elite colleges" and provides a commonsense check to the yearly âadmissions mania" of students competing for coveted slots at top schools. In taking apart the âlargely subjective" and âfatally flawed" rankings of U.S. News & World Report and reviewing the dearth of class diversity and âlack of imagination" at the pinnacle of higher education, Bruni tosses a rock through the undeserved âveneration of elite schools" and celebrates the democratic insistence that a âgood student can get a good education just about anywhere." He fills the book with profiles of successful CEOs, politicians, entrepreneurs, and other known names to illustrate how self-starters turned their default school into a stepladder to success. Bruni's quick wit and slick style nimbly glosses over the systemic problems with American higher education and instead reassures floundering young adults and hand-wringing parents that college is and is not the most crucial years of a person's life, and that the true measure of successââgreat careers and lives that matter"âis not bought with a diploma but built with âa robust and lasting energy for hard work." While Bruni's heartfelt argument ignores somewhat blissfully the deeper problems facing higher education, his insistence on an ideal liberal, humanistic college as a playground for the mind is a nostalgic and valuable contribution to the larger conversation.

January 1, 2015
New York Times op-ed columnist Bruni (Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater, 2009, etc.) shows why rejection by an Ivy League college need not be a disaster and may even be a blessing. The author attributes the frenzy attached to college admission to the emphasis on branding and privilege, which increasingly characterize our society as the income gap widens. All too often, admission to a top college becomes a goal in itself while the quality of a well-rounded education takes second place. There are many hurdles to be overcome, beginning as early as preschool. Prowess in sports, community service and other extracurricular activities are items for the student's resume along with high grades and test scores. Only after winning a place in an elite institution can the student afford to relax. "The sale is more important than the product," writes Bruni, who presents several cases, including his own experience, to show how being rejected by the top rung may be a blessing in disguise. Getting an education off the charted path can be a life-changing experience. Forced out of their comfort zones, students may become more self-reliant, more flexible and able to succeed, and they may get a better education to boot. The author takes the University of Arizona as an example. It offers a high-quality education with a faculty that includes two Nobel laureates, five Pulitzer Prize winners and more. Written in a lively style but carrying a wallop, this is a book that family and educators cannot afford to overlook as they try to navigate the treacherous waters of college admissions.

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February 1, 2015

College acceptance letters begin arriving in late March and culminate in National College Decision Day, May 1. However, for some students and their families, getting into the right university has become a frenzied process beginning in preschool with the express intent of an Ivy League acceptance letter. Bruni, a New York Times op-ed columnist and author (Born Round; Ambling into History), here looks at the entire admissions process and the increased cultural desire for an elitist education. To that end, he profiles successful Americans who did not attend elite institutions. He also talks with counselors who parse the admissions process and the true meaning of the college ratings scales. Bruni looks at what fuels the increased demand for a top educational experience as well as studies, the results of which defy the notion that success in life is dependent on where you attend classes. VERDICT Bruni's investigative reporting skills serve his audience (parents and students) well. His accessible narrative challenges the cultural fixation on elite educations while illuminating the commonalities of college experiences that have resulted in professional success and lives well lived. A worthy addition to college admissions literature. [See Prepub Alert, 9/29/14.]--Jane Scott, Clark Lib., Univ. of Portland, OR

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2015
In Bruni's March 2014 New York Times op-ed column, Our Crazy College Crossroads, the outspoken journalist (and author of Ambling into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush, 2002) declared that his nerve-hitting piece was intended less as a balm for the rejected than as a reality check for a society gone nuts over the whole overheated process of college admissions. Bruni's ardent new book has been expertly timed for a March release, the annual period when many outstanding college applicants and their parents are desperately awaiting the arrival of a scarce and coveted Ivy League ticket. Here he expands expertly on the same subject matter, aiming to debunk the alarming belief that access to higher education is a brutal, Hunger Gamesstyle competition, where winning acceptance into a top-tier school is the only guarantee for future success. Through numerous examples, statistics, and insightful interviews, Bruni proves that some of today's most prominent individuals did not get where they are by attending Harvard or Yale, and that the path to adulthood can be just as fulfilling when reached by one of the many meaningful roads less traveled. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Memories of the charm and honesty of the author's 2009 memoir, Born Round, will draw readers to his new book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)